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Is Kansas the land of Oz, fast food and zombie slayers? The web says so

Depictions of states offer quirky perspectives

If someone with no knowledge of Kansas decided to learn about it via the Internet, what conclusion would he come to? Possibly that the residents love their fast food and movies from the 1930s.

Most states, including Kansas, have websites and advertising campaigns to present their best image to potential visitors or business partners online, on television and in publications. Those campaigns often play second fiddle on social media, however, where dominance often comes through quirkiness, the ability to surprise, and yes, photos and maps.

Rankings and classifications of the 50 states plaster all corners of the Internet, ranging from a depiction of each state with Lego minifigures to the terms most often Googled by its inhabitants and which are most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Here are some of the ways Kansas stands out on the world of the web:

In the land of Oz

When Canadian photographer Jeff Friesen decided to make depictions of all 50 U.S. states, he came up with some interesting creations, including an alien chasing a man for New Mexico and a hippie driving a recycling bin for California.

For Kansas, he went with an airborne house, a green-faced witch flying on a bicycle and a chicken also being carried away by a tornado, apparently channeling “The Wizard of Oz.” While that may not have much to do with life as most Kansans experience it, it isn’t too surprising that nonresidents would use that depiction, given that Liberal offers an “Oztoberfest” and Wamego promotes its Oz Museum.

Cattle health concerns

Kansans apparently are very concerned about the health of their livestock, according to an analysis of what residents of various states search for on Google — a finding that makes sense, given the prominence of the cattle industry.

The term Kansans searched more than any other state was “hoof and mouth disease,” according to real estate website Estately. The disease, also called “foot-and-mouth,” infects cattle, pigs and other animals with divided hooves, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The analysis didn’t look at the terms that had the highest number of total searches, but at what each state’s residents searched for more than residents of any other state. Kansans also apparently were very interested in the TV show “How I Met Your Mother” and toupees at the time the analysis was performed.

“Looks like Kansas finally has something to put on its travel brochures,” the post’s author noted under the state’s list. The state wasn’t singled out, though — the author also took a shot at Nebraska tourism and recommended interventions for states whose residents frequently looked up recreational drugs.

Generous hearts live here

Though Kansas takes a lot of ribbing online, there are some positive portrayals of the Sunflower State out there.

A Gallup poll conducted in 2013 reported 62 percent of Kansans had donated money in the previous month, 45 percent had volunteered time and 38 percent had done both. That made Kansas the sixth-most charitable state, behind Utah, Minnesota, Hawaii, South Dakota and New Hampshire.

Fast food junkies

Kansans, or at least the young, apparently love their fast food.

A survey by Level, a personal finance smartphone app, found Kansans between ages 18 and 35 spend an average of about $1,040 annually on fast food, and 35 percent of those surveyed bought fast food two or more times in an average week.

Only one state’s young people spent more on average, with Oklahomans shelling out about $1,194 for fast food annually and 40 percent saying they buy fast food more than once a week.

No zombies welcome

Despite its residents’ questionable eating habits, Kansans can apparently outrun the undead, according another set of rankings compiled by Estately.

The rankings were based on percentage of military personnel and veterans, people who are physically active, obesity rate, gun ownership and people who listed on their Facebook pages that they were interested in martial arts, survival skills, laser tag, paintball and triathlons. Kansas came in 14th.

Most of the Midwest and Great Plains states survived, according to the rankings, but Nebraska was predicted to be overrun by zombies.

Rankings and memes about the states tend to be popular on the Internet because people connect with them emotionally and want to share, said Alissa Menke, who does digital marketing strategy for jones huyett Partners.

“I think people like these types of state memes and share them because something within the meme resonates with them and they either passionately agree or disagree,” she said in an email. “When memes directly address where someone lives or was born, it makes it that much more likely to resonate and be shared.”

States and tourism groups can take advantage of those same tactics to drive an emotional connection, Menke said.

“You have to create content that resonates and means something to them so they are compelled to share it,” she said. “That can be a meme, contest, article or great photo that lights a fire (either for or against) and drives people to act.”

Andrea Johnson, marketing coordinator for the Kansas Council on Travel and Tourism, said they usually don’t pay too much attention to less-than-flattering portrayals of Kansas, except to prove them wrong. For example, the tourism council encourages people to tweet pictures with the hashtag #kansasbeautiful after a survey declared Kansas had the least attractive scenery in the country, she said.

“We did acknowledge that one because we felt we could disprove it,” she said.

Johnson said the tourism council tries to find other people who are writing complimentary things about Kansas and promotes what they have to say, because people are more likely to take it seriously.

“These bloggers, it’s not their job (to promote Kansas). They’re doing it because they like it,” she said. “We keep an eye on social media and look at what people are saying that’s positive to combat the negative.”